A Twisted World
by BurntShoe
Summary: Chris is 11 and started his Pokemon journey. However, things have changed in the Pokemon World in the 100 years since the battle between Red and Silver, and it's up to Chris to set things right...
1. Chapter 1: Today

**Please note that this story is my first story and also a rough draft.**

It was the day.

I knew it, I just knew it instantly when I woke, not because the alarm clock beeped one hour before it usually did, but because this was the day I had been so excited for, but it was also the day I was dreading.

Weak sunlight streamed in through the window, hurting my eyes. I rubbed them. This was the day this is it this is it…thoughts zoomed through my head, like I was thinking at double speed.

I jumped from my bed, which was in the bottom left corner of my room. It had sheets the color of ivory (an ink stain shaped like Hoenn in the middle, a reminder that writing at night was not a good idea.) This was the bed I might just never sleep in again, or at least not for a long time.

I fumbled around in my closet, still half-asleep, but right then a knock on my door made me hop through the roof. I had always been cautious, and who was it at this hour? It must be my mother, of course, she was the only one in the house besides me.

Only a few weeks ago that was not true…tears of anger came to my eyes at the mere thought.

"What is it?" I asked groggily.

In response, Mom opened the door and came in. She was already dressed as if she were going to restaurant, and she handed me a strange outfit. I examined it thoroughly. It was a red cap, a white jacket made of a strange stretchy material that was almost translucent, a black cotton t-shirt, and cargo shorts, which I hate.

"Uh…what-" I asked but I was cut off by mom. She hobbled over to me and ruffled my short black hair like she was proud of me.

"You're going be a Trainer today!" She said, the pride and happiness in her voice bubbling like a pot of boiling water. I smacked my forehead. Duh. That was my Trainer outfit. Who knew why Trainers needed stupid looking outfits, but it was in the rules, and I wouldn't trade being a Trainer for anything.

I looked up in her eyes, which were so happy, like they had never seen the events of weeks past. Was it pride only to make me feel better, and then would those eyes sink with sadness when I was gone? Her leg might heal…but would her heart?

Whatever, I thought, clearing my head of such dark thoughts. I was becoming a Pokemon Trainer!

"Well, put the clothes on!" Mom's voice snapped me back to it. She left the room, and I obeyed.

I stared at the electronic calendar on my wall

While I dressed, which read May 4. May…they say the month was named after the great trainer from a hundred years ago, who taught kindness to those she met, and finally stopped using Pokemon altogether, not wanting to harm them. What an idiot…Pokemon liked battling.

Ah, Pokemon. I smiled. I would have a partner today, one I could talk to, care for, protect and be protected. A trained Pokemon was as good as any gun.

I finished dressing and walked out of my room. I cheerfully walked down the stairs to my the kitchen where my mother always seemed to stay. She would sit by the table. Just sit, for hours. There she was again!

"Hey Chris," she exclaimed, "We're going to Professor Elm's lab first."

Yes! The start of my journey was drawing near!

I walked out the back door from our house and headed to the street. New Bark, the town where I live, is a very small town. There is literally 8, 10 houses in the whole town. To the west is Route 29, and to the east is a river. I look out there very now and then, and sometimes I see Tentacool splashing around.

Halfway to the lab, I met Don. He lives in the house next to mine, and we have been friends since we were toddlers. With Don I am very competitive, and Professor Elm made it so we will get our Pokemon on the same day, today. Imagine the battles we will have…at the thought of it I grin.

"Hi, Don." I greeted him, a bit awkwardly. My mom was around, and she didn't like Don too much, saying he was a "punk" and he will be in jail. One time Don came over, and he accidentally walked in on her in the bathroom…and she was furious.

"Uh…hi. You going to the Lab?" he asked. He was wearing a Trainer uniform.

"Yes, of course." He was saying little more than idle talk to pass time. He already knew I was going.

We turned onto a trail through the woods. Leaves crunched underfoot as we snaked through the dark forest. Mr. Elm moved his lab to the forest so he could be closer to the Pokemon he was studying. It didn't help much, but it was too late to move back to the street, as a store is being built in the empty lot. Anyway, that would be a lot of money going down the drain!

Finally, we saw the row of different trees that mark his driveway – oak, elm, birch, and rowan.

"Here we are!" Don yelled, his voice echoing. He was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Dude, chill out!" I told him, but deep inside, I was just as excited as he was.

We trotted up the driveway where Elm's car was parked. We just had to look at it, as we do every time we come here. It was a Silph Co. sports car, which are really expensive.

After that we entered the lab. Wow. I couldn't believe it, but I was here, and I was ready for my journey to finally, finally start.

In the lab I could see glass jars and the pristine white walls, and Poke Balls filled with Pokemon. This place was a wonder – there was always a couple assistants around, and Pokemon scurrying around the lab or in cages. A huge computer display was at the end of the lab, surrounded by several rolling chairs.

Professor Elm was there. He was a middle-aged man with receding brownish hair and glasses that made him look like an insect. He shook Mom's hand, with that everlasting smile of his, and said,

"Well, I need to get over some stuff with you too before you pick a Pokemon…take a seat." He waved his hand at the rolling chairs. We sat down.

Professor Elm launched into his explanation of Pokemon life, and badges, and all that crap. I was falling asleep when he finally ended. He also gave us a Pokedex, which is like an encyclopedia of Pokemon, and where we can check the statistics of our Pokemon.

"Now it is time to pick a Pokemon!" he exclaimed.


	2. Chapter 2: Alone

**10.19.2014**

**Thanks for no fans! Haha. I liked Chapter 1 better, so I figure there is going to be some changes to this Chapter sometime soon. It feels like its not detailed enough. Anyway the next chapter should appear between 10.20 and 10.27. Hopefully I will spend a little more time on it.**

**Chapter 2**

My heart was pounding as the professor led us from the chairs to a table where three red and white spheres were sitting. If I looked closely at one of them, I noticed a glow coming off of it. One had a red glow, one a blue, one a green. This must be one of the starter trios – one water type, one fire type, one grass type. Usually if a Trainer gets his first Pokemon from a lab, it's this type of trio. But in Kanto, it's Eevee or Pikachu.

"These are the starters. Don and Chris, you may pick one." He trotted over to the table, which was so white and clean it practically glowed. He laid his hand on the red glowing ball. "This is a Cyndaquil." He explained. "Computer, open file 'Cyndaquil-Info'.

The computer suddenly whirred and a document projected on a wall. There was a picture of what looked like a blue and white porcupine with red quills. It told that the Cyndaquil was a fire type, evolved into Quilava and then Typhlosion, and was 0.5 meters tall and 7.9 kilograms. It further stated: "It is timid, and always curls itself up in a ball. If attacked, it flares up its back for protection."

"Wow, how do you know all that?" Don asked.

"Decades of study from scientists all over the _world_ show a lot!" Elm answered, adjusting the collar of his lab coat.

He then proceeded to the other starters – Chikorita and Totodile. One of these was going to be mine, but I didn't know which one to choose…I liked Chikorita, but a TV show that I watch a lot, _League Trainer_, said that Chikorita was weak and didn't have a great moveset. Cyndaquil turned me off for some reason, but Totodile seemed like a good choice. It had good moves, few weaknesses, and it looked kind of cool. In the end, my choice was the blue crocodile.

Meanwhile, I could tell that Don thought of it as a hard decision as well. He was scratching his prominent chin and looking around nervously as the computer showed the info.

"Well, I've kept you waiting far too long. You can pick your Pokemon. Don, you first." Professor Elm finished.

Don bounded forward and picked out the sphere with the red aura-Cyndaquil, a good choice. It wasn't my choice either. This was good. Also, that meant my Totodile would have an advantage over him.

"Ah, a good decision." Professor Elm's eyes gleamed. "Now what will you pick, Chris?"

I hesitated. I would finally get my partner now. But what if I made the wrong resolution? _Ah screw it_. I thought. If I choose a bad Pokemon, it doesn't matter. _Remember the guy who beat a team of level 100 dragons with Rattatas?_

I walked up to the pallid table, and my arm shot out to pick the water Pokemon.

"Mmmyes, another good choice." Professor Elm immediately responded. "Your journey has officially started!"

There was an awkward silence.

Then, Professor Elm uneasily broke it. "Well, I have some work to do…"

His dismissive air gave us the signal to leave. As I walked out of the doorway, I looked back – and the professor's face darkened with emotion, but I didn't know which one.

The exit opened for us automatically. Once we were out the door, Don let out a huge burst of excitement.

"Wow, what are we gonna do now? Are we gonna go to route 29? I can't wait for my first battle. Hey Chris, want to battle? Wait nevermind, you have a type advantage against me. I should have gotten the Chikorita. My Pokedex says my Pokemon will learn Ember in one level! Ooh I wonder if it can learn Hyper Beam. Probably not. I'm gonna catch a Rattata!"

Mom led the way in stony silence (her artificial cheerfulness had faded). She hadn't said a word since I entered the lab, and apparently she wasn't going to end the streak here.

"What are you going to do first?" I asked Don.

"Go to Route 29 and beat my first Pokemon. Hey you should come with me, we can kill our first Pokemon togetherrrr!"

I flinched at the word kill. What did he mean by that? He might just have said that by accident, meaning faint, but I didn't know…after all, I had never seen the ending of a battle on TV…

"Uh, ok." I agreed. It was probably just an accident when he said kill. _Don't be_ _ridiculous!_ I told myself.

Finally the forest ended and our eyes were greeted by the sights of an active little village.

"Well, Chris, I'm going back to the house. Call me with your phone if you stay somewhere else for the night, okay?" Surprisingly, Mom spoke.

"Alright!" I told her.

Now! I could finally, finally start battling!

Don and I sprinted west as fast as we could, until we came to a sign.

"'Route 29'" I read the sign. "'Beware of Fearow.' Fearow! That's a fully evolved Pokemon! Aw man, if we combined our Pokemon and fought it, one of us could catch it!"

We continued walking all the way until we saw a patch of grass. It was tall and I could hear shuffling noises from inside.

"Hmm…." Don looked at the grass suspiciously. "We should go in it together…to be safe."

Don took a step in the grass. Suddenly there was a loud _squeak_, like it came from some sort of animal. A strange purple rat burst out of the quivering blades and headed straight for Don.

"WAAAAAAAA!" He screamed and bolted away from the Rattata. But I, however, remembered myself. I took out my Poke Ball and pressed the button. Suddenly blue light flooded from the opening ball, and the light formed into a Totodile (trust me, it's hard to explain)!

I finally got to see it up close. It stood on two legs, which were cyan like the rest of its body. It had stubby little toes and a tan V on it's chest. Not to mention the fearsome looking spikes on it's back, out of place on such a young, innocent Pokemon.

Suddenly my Pokedex made a ringing sound. I took it out of my left pocket, where I kept it. The screen on it showed the scene via camera around me, but the Totodile had a little information box hovering above its head that read "Level 5, Male, HP: 20/20, EXP: 125/216. Moves: Pound, Leer." A little to the right was the Rattata that was chasing Don in circles – "Level 2, Female, HP: 13/13."

Oh Arceus! I had totally forgotten about Don! Crap!

"A little help heeeeeeeeere?!" Don was wailing.

"Sorry! Totodile…..use Pound on that Rattata!" I yelled over the fray.

The Totodile locked eyes with mine, sending a shiver down my spine. That was a weird look. Then he obeyed.

He tumbled over to the Rattata ungracefully, and jumped onto the Rattata, pounding her with his stubby fists. Don ran safely to the side to watch, but the Rattata was not in good shape. Totodile was continuously punching the rat, and though it occasionally got in a scratch or two, the Totodile was overpowering it.

This wasn't right. It felt so…unclean to pound this Rattata that was WAY weaker than Totodile till it fainted from exhaustion.

Finally it's HP hit zero on my Pokedex.

"Thank goodne…" My voice trailed off, because Totodile was still pounding the Rattata while it was fainted. "Stop!"

"But that's the only way to gain…experience…!" Don huffed. "Killing it!"

There was no mistake hearing him this time. He was serious. "W-What?" I stuttered in disbelief.

"Yeh." Don said.

The Totodile raised his fist to hit the unconscious Rattata, and I rushed in to stop him. But I was too late. As I skidded to a halt by the Totodile, he landed a bonecrushing punch on the rat, and I noticed her chest….stopped heaving up and down.

"Critical hit!" My Pokedex said in an electronic voice. "The Rattata has been neutralized. Totodile gained 15 experience!" The full realization of what had just happened swept over me. Right now I felt like throwing the stupid thing to the ground and crushing it with my bare hands.

"You killed it! You killed it!" I yelled at my Pokemon, not knowing nor caring if he could hear me or not. All he did was look at me, and sort of…grin.

"Auugh!" I exclaimed out loud. This was not how I thought battling was like.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? This is normal battling." Don (the monster!) had watched through this with amusement. Amusement!

"Nothing about this is normal!" I yelled at him. Tears were running down my cheeks. How could anyone do this? Let alone every day.

"Uh, yeah…it is."

"How could you even think of this as routine? Killing an innocent life just to train a Pokemon? You fiend! I'm never, ever, going to do this again!"

"Eh, you'll get used to it."

I had no reply to this. All I could do was turn away. "Don't talk to me, ever again!"

"Wow." He sneered. What a difference to the excited kid I had seen, what, 10 minutes ago. "You…are…an…idiot."

With that I returned my pocket monster to its pokeball and headed back to New Bark, by spirits hurt, and disappointed in the world.


End file.
